Merry, Merry 2013

I remember years ago Mark preaching a sermon about repentance and mentioned that the word “repent” means to “change direction.” Anyone close enough to care to hop on over here knows that the past few years have been a season of repentance for our family. Our lives have changed direction in ways we never could have imagined and we have spent much of this season feeling rather lost — knowing we are heading towards something — but it all felt a little hazy.

Sadly, neither Mark nor I have any natural sense of direction. This causes moments of roadside bickering, limited trust for natural instinct, poor turn left or right decisions and many u-turns.  It takes total dependence on our iPhones to arrive at any of your doorsteps. As we have mapped out this new life for our family your love, encouragement and advice have illuminated our way and we are so thankful.

Mark completed all his course work and passed both the national and state exams, making him (as of January 1) a professional fiduciary. He will be launching Watson Fiduciary next month with the hope of building a full client base in the next couple of years. During this time Mark will continue his work as a hospice chaplain and bereavement counselor, cutting back on that as his fiduciary work increases. He also is volunteering with Alzheimer’s Association, leading a support group for caregivers. It is incredible to watch the pieces fall into place — Mark’s education (hey, that doctorate in intergenerational ministry is coming in handy!), pastoral and hospice work and his genuine love for the geriatric set — in a new career outside of traditional church work.

With these transitions occurring I’ve made a few change-ups in the last month. Cutting back my Eat Drink Garden work to mostly freelance copy editing has given me time to work on creating Mark’s website and marketing materials. I can devote more energy and imagination to keeping the home fires burning…or rather sweeping up all the piles of sand dragged into our house. I’m also working for El Montecito Presbyterian as their wedding coordinator; the sanctuary is a popular spot for destination weddings. This side job has gifted us with many entertaining stories and a travel fund. We had a family meeting when the opportunity came up and it was decided that if I was going to be working on the weekends we needed to make it worth it for the whole family.

This is the magic season of family togetherness (they want to be with us!) and we are trying to make the most of it. This year we explored California from Malibu to San Francisco, from camping to staycation, from baseball to bonfires; it’s been a blast. Mark and I fulfilled a long held goal of attending the symphony at the Walt Disney Concert Hall for our anniversary. Our big trip comes this spring when we visit dear friends in Kauai for a week and celebrate my 39^th (gulp) birthday.

Ben loves first grade and is most excited to start getting homework in the new year (let’s see how long that lasts) and the fact that both of his best friends are in his class this year. He still loves Legos, Star Wars, Rusty’s Pizza, chess, and has added Chronicles of Narnia, Mexican food and Capture the Flag to the list. Ben is sweet, loyal, enthusiastic and talkative. He also made his mom cry last week when he spontaneously decided that he no longer wanted to sleep with his stuffed animals or have “You Are My Sunshine” sung to him before bed. After some negotiations, he has agreed to the singing on special occasions or when mom has had a bad day and needs a little bit of her sunshine.

Clara. Oh, Clara. This pretty much sums it up: Over the summer she told me, “Now, Mommy. I’m not the kind of tomboy who wants to be a boy. I’m the kind of tomboy that wants to be with the boys.” She was very nervous about starting kindergarten but quickly found her groove (and even some friends that are girls!). She is a mix of so many things- cuddly, caring, tough, busy and funny. Her current passions are “working on my art,” dinosaurs, chocolate, sharks, decorating her secret hideout in the backyard and making sure everyone leaves for the day with kisses in their pocket. If you happen to see Clara out and about you’ll notice Mark wrapped around her little finger.

In all the scenarios we mapped out for our family, we never dreamed that living in Santa Barbara would be a reality. It is just in the last six months as our plans began to take some real shape that we let ourselves really believe we live here. Our cottage is off the same exit from our first home here almost fifteen years ago. At Von’s it’s our newlywed phone number I punch in at checkout. Clara’s “older” at school is the son of one of my dear friends from Westmont. I relive my own wedding day just a little as I send brides down the aisle. Mark gets to visit elderly folks that watched us fall in love at church all those years ago.

On this foundation of history there are so many incredible new places and faces being added to our list of blessings as the kids’ social life expands and we allow ourselves to call this patch of paradise home. Repentance and renewal, comfort and joy, faith, hope, love— these are the gifts. It’s all a work in progress. To quote (the talented and adorable) Ben Affleck, “It’s good, it is work, but it’s the best kind of work, and there’s no one I’d rather work with.”

Merry Christmas. Let’s get to work.

XOXO - Mark, Leah, Ben and Clara

Thank you, Evan Janke for another round of gorgeous pictures. We have so much fun with you.